All images copyright Lawrence Colsell. Used with permission.

Nutrition that is very exact

Lawrence Colsell and his wife, Marianne, found themselves frustrated with their working lives and a growing passion for being active outdoors. In 2008 they had their first experience with energy food on the go: an energy gel. After consuming more than a few of these gels during their outdoor activities, they started looking for something better, something tastier, and healthier. They soon realised that the best way to do this was to do it themselves and so established XACT Nutrition.

With the help of Marianne’s father, Alain, who has over 40 years of experience in research and development in the agri-food and nutrition industries, they started using traditional European recipes for making jam as a way to cook down real fruit as a base for Xact nutrition bars. As a small business they had to look for food manufacturing companies that could make small batches rather than large ones. After scouring North America, they found companies in Europe that could manufacture what they needed in the amount they needed. The result is that XACT Nutrition bars are super digestible and easy to swallow which is a good thing when you are biking, running or in the middle of a triathlon.

In 2017 Alister Gardner joined XACT Nutrition as Commercial Director and a co-owner—the first non-family member at XACT although he does share the Spotify family account. Lawrence met Alister at an ultra trial in 2012. In fact, Alister is a competitive runner, and has represented Canada in Mountain Running so he knows the value of nutritional bars when you are active. As a vegan, Alister has been a driving force behind a new line of plant-based protein bars that XACT Nutrition bringing to market in summer. All of the fruit bars made by XACT Nutrition are vegan and they are as delicious as they are nutritious.